Sene Dealt to Red Bulls

While the Jermaine Jones rumors continue to swirl around Gillette Stadium, the Revolution engineered a trade on Tuesday that sent striker Saer Sene and an international roster spot to the New York Red Bulls for forward Andre Akpan and allocation money.

Sene led the Revolution in scoring in 2012 with 11 goals, but was hampered by injuries during his time in New England. An ACL injury cut short his 2012 campaign, while a serious ankle injury shelved him for the final weeks of the 2013 season.

After target striker Juan Agudelo was acquired in May 2013, the blonde mohawked forward was assigned to the wing, a move he seemed less than thrilled with at times. Nevertheless, he remained a valuable part of the 18, scoring five goals and adding five assists in 24 games for the Revolution last season.

But the storm clouds darkened this season after he took a leave of absence from the team in April. Sene, nor coach Jay Heaps, disclosed the reason for his brief departure. Not surprisingly, Sene’s role was reduced following his leave. He appeared in three more games – all off the bench, including a June 28 appearance in which he scored his lone goal of the season – before he was sent to the Red Bulls.

“We want to wish Saer all the best as he begins a new chapter of his career,” Revolution general manager Michael Burns said.

In Akpan, the Revolution receive a largely unproven forward who’s bounced around the American soccer landscape since Colorado drafted him in the second round of the 2010 SuperDraft. The former Harvard star was loaned to both Real Maryland Monarchs and FC Tampa in 2010 in an attempt to provide him with playing time.

Overall, Akpan has played in 41 career games in MLS, with four goals and two assists to his credit. He is expected to battle incumbents Charlie Davies, Patrick Mullins and Dimitry Imbongo for playing time up top.

“We believe he can provide us with added competition at the forward position,” Burns said, “and give us more depth as we head into a playoff push.”

Related Posts

One Comment

Sene wanted out and the Revs didn’t want to pay him $150K to not play. Sene was a quality player. Although he was one-footed and unlucky with injuries, he knew where the back of the net was. Perhaps the RBs can bring back the 2012 Sene. Akpan is a prospect. He’s only making $50K and the Revs like a cheap gamble. They’ll give him one or two chances to show what he has, otherwise he’ll probably get released. The team still needs to fill the DM, CF, GK and at least one of the FB slots with quality IMO if they hope to
establish a winning team.

About Brian O'Connell

Brian O'Connell serves as editor and staff writer at New England Soccer Today. He's also the Revolution beat writer for ESPNBoston.com, and is Officer at Large for the North American Soccer Reporters. He's contributed to The Associated Press, The Canadian Press, and has been featured on MLSSoccer.com & RevsNet.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BrianOConnell21
or e-mail him at BOConnell21@aol.com